On the French style icon's birthday, L'OFFICIEL remembers her most scene-stealing fashion moments on and off the silver screen

At just the age of 22, model-turned-actress Brigitte Bardot reached international stardom&mdash;a legacy that would be immortalized even after her retirement from acting. In celebration of Bardot&rsquo;s 86th birthday today, L&#39;OFFICIEL looks at the top 10 moments that made the&nbsp;Parisian beaut&eacute;&nbsp;a French <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/the-coolest-french-creatives-to-follow-on-instagram">style</a> icon.

style-chic-moment-elle-magazine-brigitte-bardot.png

Born in 1934, Bardot aspired to be a ballerina as a young girl and trained&nbsp;under Boris Knyazev at the Conservatoire de Paris. At just 15 years old, she was hired as a model and nabbed her first cover in 1950 as a natural brunette. Two years later, she would transition into <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/cannes-film-festival-best-red-carpet-fashion">acting</a> with her first role in Le Trou Normand&nbsp;(Crazy for Love).&nbsp;

style-chic-moment-silk-scarf-brigitte-bardot.jpg

As Bardot gained more attention in French cinema, she began to be be&nbsp;casted&nbsp;for&nbsp;English-speaking roles. But as she made her way to Hollywood, Bardot never let go of her French style. In one of her more memorable&nbsp;looks (above),&nbsp;she donned a red suede coat, beige corduroy trousers, black ankle boots,&nbsp;and, of course, a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/olivia-palermo-scarf-mask-style">silk scarves</a>.

style-chic-moment-and-god-created-woman-balmain-dress.gif

In her <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/manolo-blahnik-favorite-classic-films">breakthrough</a> film, Et Dieu... Cr&eacute;a la Femme (And God Created Woman), Bardot wore a red body-conscious boatneck dress designed by French designer Pierre Balmain. Directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, the starlet&#39;s role as the sultry beauty from St. Tropez made her an international star, and&nbsp;Bardot fully embraced the femme fatale persona.

blue-gingham-brigitte-bardot.jpg

Here the young Parisian channeled Dorothy from the 1939 film&nbsp;The Wizard of Oz,&nbsp;wearing a blue ruffle-layered gingham dress styled with a pair of braided pigtails and satin bows to match.&nbsp;As an avid fan of the woven fabric, Bardot even wore a pink gingham wedding dress for her second marriage in 1959.

style-chic-moment-brigitte-bardot-sam-levin.jpg

Then a new mom,&nbsp;Bardot&nbsp;was famously photographed&nbsp;by Sam Levin in 1963 wearing&nbsp;a blue fur satin evening gown that she styled with a perfectly-imperfect choucroute&nbsp;bun. By then Bardot was already a full-fledged movie star and solidified her status as a sex symbol along with beloved American actress and bombshell beauty Marilyn Monroe.&nbsp;

style-chic-moment-red-bow-stripes.jpg

A winged cat liner and messy&nbsp;blowout was arguably Bardot&#39;s&nbsp;most notable look. Here, the actress&#39;s&nbsp;bouffant ponytail paired with a bright red velvet bow and matching striped top&mdash;Bardot didn&rsquo;t hide her love for patterned clothing throughout the years&mdash;followed in the actress&#39; signature effortless style.

style-chic-moment-brigitte-bardot-headband.jpg

Bardot&rsquo;s film career was extensive. In 1961, she won a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress for her main role in La V&eacute;rit&eacute;&nbsp; (The Truth)&nbsp;and was a nominee for the Bambi&nbsp;and BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress. Perhaps Bardot&rsquo;s most-famous dressed down&nbsp;look would be the black cardigan outfit she wore as&nbsp;the distressed wife Camille in Le M&eacute;pris (Contempt), but she proved that even a bandeau headband can be just as striking as a new hairdo.

style-chic-moment-leather-harley davidson.jpg

If being a global movie star wasn&rsquo;t enough, Bardot ventured into music in the &#39;60s with the alias, B.B.&nbsp;In her performance for her song &ldquo;Harley Davidson,&rdquo;&nbsp;Bardot epitomized the fearless biker chic style to&nbsp;the time.

style-chic-moment-pink-thigh-highs-brigitte-bardot.jpg

Dressed head-to-toe in baby pink, Bardot gave an unforgettable look in&nbsp;L&#39;Ours et la Poupee&nbsp;(The Bear and the Doll) in 1970. The return of the thigh-high boots with a baby pink raincoat and sun hat was addicting to watch.

style-chic-moment-bardot-neckline.jpg

In 1973 Bardot retired from entertainment&nbsp;at the&nbsp;age of 39, trading stardom to become an animal rights activist, which she still continues to advocate for&nbsp;today.&nbsp;

The 10 Chicest Moments in Brigitte Bardot's Career

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Amanda Seyfried Doesn't Take Herself Too Seriously

Fashion Week

Christian Cowan reinvents fashion through a playful prism

Fashion

The must-have Mary Janes for spring summer 2025 from the Milan and Paris fashion shows

Man

10 Men's Fashion Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day 2025: Style and Elegance to Surprise

Fashion Week

Giorgio Armani, the lesson on elegance with the men's fashion show autumn winter 2025

Around the World

The Danieli: the timeless soul of Venice

Fashion Week

Schiaparelli's Divine Rise with New Haute Couture Collection

Fashion Week

Magliano strikes with the seduction of the Adriatic and the autumn winter 2025 fashion sh